I recently asked a question of my readers that read “have you ever toyed with or have become a vegetarian or vegan?” and I was amused to read that a couple of readers had but that a cheeseburger was the item that they clearly remembered had broken their resolve. It’s understandable really – a good burger is hard to resist and I rarely do. This afternoon we were in need of a burger and I had heard that there was a Hamburger place that had been churning out delicious old skool burgers since 1957.

I admit I don’t visit the Shire very often. So much so that I tweeted “Going to the shire…I don’t venture there often!” and people tweeted back things such as “Good luck with that!” ( @fionalaughton) and “Make sure you get your vaccinations first!”(@TudorGrrrl) and “got your passport?” (@vitav). Then there were people that grew up there like @OohLookBel and @pathologic_kt.

Paul’s Famous Hamburgers is located on the Princes Highway in Sylvania and if you’re coming by car, it’s slightly tricky to get to in that there’s only a short merging space so if you miss the merge, you can turn left at a later stage and loop back around. Inside, it’s pure retro with the painted text menu with a list of variations but essentially it’s what you add what you want to the beef burger i.e. egg, bacon, cheese and pineapple. All burgers comes with tomato, lettuce, sauce and onion. As for the thoroughly Australian addition of sliced beetroot? You have to specifically ask for that.

They’re all made and assembled fresh to order and there’s also traditional milk bar milkshakes as well as their equally as famous Pineapple Crush drink. On a wall and outside there are plenty of framed newspaper clippings acclaiming these as the best burgers in Sydney. We decide to split some burgers and grab a 2 litre bottle of the Pineapple Crush ($6.50) from the small fridge on the counter. They give us 4 cups for the drinks even though we’ve only ordered 2 burgers to split among us which is nice and the servings are enormous. If you put the burger next to those incredible shrinking burgers of the well known burger chains, it would dwarf them.

Hamburger with The Works $7.20

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Being invited to the Opening of the Nepalese Food and Cultural Festival is an exciting thing indeed, especially where are people with Ambassador titles also in attendance. This evening, Mr NQN and I are excited to be in attendance of the launch of the Nepalese Food and Cultural festival at the Grove restaurant in the Sydney Stamford Airport.

Nepalese dancers

Why at this hotel? Well apparently there are quite a few Nepalese staff members including a chef working here – in fact there are about 40,000-50,000 Nepalese in Australia. Flawed or unflawed, I usually measure how big a community is based on the number of restaurants there are and I only know of two in Sydney. This rule is promptly thrown out as I realise that it doesn’t apply here. The Nepalese community has their own newspaper and this day is the start of 2066 according to their calender.

After the speeches from the H.E Ambassador of Nepal, Mr Yogendra Dhakal and the Hon. Minster Verginia Judge MP and other dignitaries we’re led downstairs to the Grove restaurant. The Nepalese chef Sher shows us the dishes along with the spices used in traditional Nepalese cuisine. Typical spices used are cumin seed, coriander seed, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, mustard seeds and tamarind paste.

Steamed Momos with spicy sauce

He shows us the Steamed Momo’s which are Nepalese dumplings made with chicken and traditional Nepalese spices with a black sesame sauce. These are said to be the first things that visitors are served. The sauce is deceptively fiery and tingly with the tongue and lips quivering for some time afterward which I have to admit is a new sensation for me as I’ve never experienced it when eating.

Kashiko Masu or Male goat meat curry braised with onions, cumin, coriander, chillies and flavoured with Himalayan spices

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Summer time is indeed a great time in Sydney. It’s when everyone has holidays and the city looks at its sparkling best. it’s also when many free events are on and the Festival of Sydney is on and to add to the freebies available, there is a “We Love Sydney” card where people can take a friend for free to attractions, places to eat and hotels. One of the places interested me, it was the House of Pies. It’s no secret that I love pies and will travel for a good pie. This place was in Matraville which is about 30 minutes from the CBD.

We see a sign displayed that House of pie is a Trans fat free zone with none being used in the pastries or fillings. The store is open 24 hours so should the urge to get a pie hit and you happen to be south of the CBD this may be where you might want to end up (although I can’t vouch for the crowd you may be sharing your bench with).

It always makes me a bit wary when people have signs that they were awarded this and that but they’re from a  few years ago. Case in point is their award for “Best Pie in Sydney 2004” but a search on their website reveals some additional wins and nominations since then. We approach the store, with its wood panelled outer and the bench seating inside and out. It’s a hot Sydney day and the girl behind the counter looks as enthused as a hot lizard on a rock. With her chin resting on the counter waiting for an order she takes our order without a word and places them on the counter. Our change is worldessly handed back to us and she resumes her position leaning her chin against the counter.

Chunky chicken and mushroom $3.60

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